Uncategorized

State Budget Update May 2014 Late last week, the legislature and the Governor agreed on a final budget for FY15.    The Committee makes no changes to the Arts Commission (arts grants)  allocation of $ 1,797,830.  A new $525,000 line item is for a consortium of seven art museums (Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Bruce Museum, Florence…

New Chair Nominated for the NEA On Feburary 13, 2014 President Obama named his choice to lead the National Endowment for the Arts, which has been without a chairman for more than a year. The president announced his intent to nominate Jane Chu, currently the president CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts…

The Arts Education Partnership compiled this chart to compare state arts education policies.

AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS RELEASES  2013 NATIONAL ARTS INDEX Americans for the Arts 2013 Index report delivers a 2011 score of the health and vitality of the arts in the U.S. The arts have effectively leveled off in 2011 as the economy slowly and unevenly recovers from the Great Recession. Read more about the impact…

CONNECTICUT STATE BUDGETFINAL FY14-FY15 The Connecticut State Legislature approved a biennial budget on June 2, 2013. The Appropriations Committee established an Arts Commission and transfers funding from the Culture, Tourism and Arts grant account in the amount of $1,797,830 for both FY 14 & FY 15. This represents a reduction from $2 million from FY…

NPR Series Highlights the Benefits of Arts Education: Last week National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast four programs describing the “intersection of education and the arts”. Chuck Close reflects on Learning School Lessons Through Art. One of the superstar artists connected with the Turnaround Arts Initiative is painter Chuck Close. He says that when he was growing…

CONGRESSWOMAN ROSA DELAURO SPEAKS OUT FOR THE ARTS On April 9th,  the Honorable Rosa DeLauro spoke at Arts Advocacy Day in Washington DC, sponsored by Americans for the Arts. Here are her remarks: Thank you, and good morning. I am so pleased to be here, and to see such an enthusiastic crowd ready to make…

CONGRESS MOVES FY 2014 BUDGET PLANS AND AVOIDS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate introduced and passed out of committee two starkly contrasting resolutions that serve as each chamber’s blueprint for the federal government’s FY 2014 budget. While these proposals are non-binding and do not need the signature of the president, they…